Uncut's albums of the year 2017

I always look forward to end-of-the-year lists, buying all the relative magazines and going through their highlights-of-the-year sampler CD's, even for a period compiling my own mix CD's to distribute among friends. So I was quite happy this morning to find the new Uncut with the years' review at the train station just before my 2-hour ride to work. I'm now in the middle of it, and I felt like sharing my surprise that, for the first time, not only do I not own a single album of this year's "75 Best", but nothing even piques my interest. I mean, I know I may like the new National or Robert Plant, but was I looking forward to another album by them? Not really. Even less so the reunion albums by Ride and Slowdive. They used to be OK in the 90's, but has anyone actually missed them? As for this year's No.1, LCD Soundsystem? They managed to reform before anyone even noticed they had retired. I'll take Uncut's masterpiece-izing of the album with a grain of salt. At least there's The Boss on the cover stating he "has never done an honest day's work" in his life. Coming from the man who sheds buckets of sweat at every gig, this sets a pretty high standard for the rest of us. Anyway, I'll listen to the CD when I get home and hopefully will hear something to be excited about....

Radio Birdman "Zeno Beach" 2006****

I've always been a big fan of these guys, for years their surf-punk anthem "Aloha Steve And Danno" has been the standard opener for my mix tapes. I never thought I'd get to see them live as they belonged to another continent (Australia) and time (the late 70's). But, inevitably, they succumbed to the trend of cult bands reforming to reap the rewards of posthumous fame. In 2006, with a brand new album in tow which almost nobody had heard yet, they played at the AN Club, a -literally and figuratively- underground establishment at Exarchia, my old neighbourhood which huffingtonpost has described a "punk disneyland", an entertaining but incorrect description. But if that analogy had any merit, AN would be among the main attractions. Lots of great concerts have taken place there. It has a low ceiling and the stage pits artists and audience within touching distance, which makes rock gigs an intimate experience. On the other hand it's extremely stuffy, especially since nobody in Greece observes the non-smoking regulation. That night the place was packed, literally no place to move. Well, not exactly true, you could move to the music in tandem with everyone else, but if you wanted to scratch your nose or something, it required contortionist's abilities. Great fun, nevertheless - a real rock'n'roll night of the kind you rarely experience any more, filled with tons of energy and excitement. With any doubts removed from witnessing this concert, I went ahead and bought Birdman's latest CD, which I'm reviewing today.

1976 is commonly regarded as punk rock's year zero, but Radio Birdman formed in 1974 (same year with The Ramones, albeit half the world away) which explains why they're usually described as proto-punk. The band's Australian core was augmented with Deniz Tek, a medical student from Detroit who had witnessed the fury of The Stooges, MC5 and Grand Funk first-hand, and who took it upon himself to transplant the Motor City's garage rock sound to his new home. Radio Birdman's music bristled with punk energy, melodic hooks and aggressive hard rock guitars but that only brought them local hero status, and they disbanded in '78. Unbelievably and unexpectedly, almost three decades later, they just pick up from where they had left without missing a beat. Rob Younger's singing may be less throat-shreddingly loud, but he can carry a tune better than ever, while Masuak and Tek's double guitar attack hasn't lost any of its power. Pip Hoyle's keyboards are more conspicuous than before, while he also wrote two of the album's best songs, the penultimate Blue Öyster Cult-like mid tempo rocker "The Brotherhood of Al Wazah" and infectious surf-punk closer "Zeno Beach". Opener "We've Come So Far (To Be Here Today)" functions like a statement of intent, exhibiting the frenetic pace, hooks and deft solos we had come to expect of the band at their peak. It is a recipe often repeated in the album, always with success. There are variations, of course: the glam stomp of "You Just Make it Worse", flower power of "Die Like April", Nuggets garage rock of "Hungry Cannibals", metal chug of "Locked Up" and Doors-like psychedelia of "Heyday". Never a dull moment with this album - I hope celebrated young guns like The Hives and Strokes are taking notes: watch and learn, boys: this is how you do it!

***** for We've Come So Far (To Be Here Today), The Brotherhood of Al Wazah, Zeno Beach

**** for You Just Make It Worse, Remorseless, Found Dead, Connected, Die Like April, Heyday, Subterfuge, Hungry Cannibals, Locked Up

*** for If You Say Please

Roy Loney and The Longshots "Shake It Or Leave It" 2007****

If there ever was an album worth of a PLAY LOUD! sticker, it could have been one of the first three Flamin' Groovies albums. Think Rolling Stones circa '65-68, add some wild rockabilly and pump them full of adrenaline and you'll get an idea how they sounded. Yet they all flopped - a clear case of wrong time (late 60's-early 70's) wrong place (hippy San Francisco). It wasn't until they toured England together with The Ramones in '76 that they were hailed as the keepers of the original rock'n'roll flame, but at that point their lead singer/screamer Roy Loney had left the band, and with him most of the edge was gone: that version of The Groovies took a more melodic, Beatles-inspired, approach. After leaving the band on '71, Roy resurfaced with other bands and sporadic albums, always flying under the radar. As evidenced by this effort, his staying on the edge of the music business, had nothing to do with a lack of skill or inspiration: his voice hasn't lost any of its power and the 12 original songs here display his compositional skill in a variety of styles: from his familiar Stonesey rock (opener "Baby du Jour" and closer "Hey Now") and rawdy rockabilly ("Big Time Love", the 80-second "Raw Deal") to less explored sounds like the spaghetti western "Big Fat Nada" and atmospheric psychedelia of "Subterranean Waterfalls". Other high points include the jangly folk rock of  "The Great Divide" and garage dynamite "Don't Like Nothin'", the latter heavy on fuzz guitar and vocal sneer. "Danger Waves" is a short surf rocker, "Hamlet's Brother, Happy" a whimsical slice of Anglophile pop, "Miss Val Dupree" a ? And The Mysterians-like farfisa garage rocker and "Looking for the Body" a rockabilly-ish tune seen through the prism of an English pub/punk rock band. The musicians include some talented players like Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows/REM), Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman) and Mark Pickerel (Screaming Trees), and the outcome is a record of timeless and classy rock'n'roll, which once again failed to win the appreciation of the masses. What do they know, right?

**** for Baby du Jour, The Great Divide, Big Fat Nada, Raw Deal, Don't Like Nothin'

*** for Big Time Love, Danger Waves, Subterranean Waterfalls, Hamlet's Brother Happy, Miss Val Dupree, Looking for the Body, Hey Now

Roy Loney & The Longshots "Baby Du Jour"

Rory Gallagher "Against The Grain" 1975***

If this album is often overlooked it's probably because it was recorded between my (and, I suspect, everyone's) favourite Gallagher albums, "Tattoo" and "Calling Card". A bit like the shortest guy in a basketball team who doesn't look all that short when you meet him on the street, "Against the Grain" is actually a very good, well produced, blues rock album. The band's playing is impressive, there's a nice variation in tempos and styles and there aren't any weak songs - but neither are there any real classics. "Let Me In" opens the album with some hard rock riffing, while "Cross Me Off Your List" is more jazzy with playful guitar solos. Rory displays his softer side in the, relatively more commercial, ballad "Ain't Too Good" before embarking on a slide guitar extravaganza on "Souped-Up Ford". Lou Martin provides some nimble accompaniment - his piano is generally very upfront and his interaction with Rory's guitar provides some of the album's highlights. "I Take What I Want" is a lively soul cover (from Sam and Dave) that evolved into a live favourite, while "Lost at Sea" strays from the blues into almost prog territory. It's followed by the most typical blues here "All Around Man" and another cover, Leadbelly's "Out On The Western Plain".  The latter is, surprisingly as it's a stark country-tinged number, the record's highlight with Gallagher playing acoustic with aplomb and sounding delighted to delve into the Wild West mythology. The original LP used to close with "At The Bottom", a very well-written and played Southern rocker but this reissue adds two nice bonus tracks: short blues instrumental "Cluney Blues" and jaunty boogie "My Baby, Sure". Confusingly, each CD version has a different cover, all featuring a photo of Rory's beat-up old Sratocaster (this one is from the 2011 U.S. edition). Definitely an enjoyable album, so just crank it up and get your air guitar ready...

***** for Out on the Western Plain

**** for Let Me In, Cross Me Off Your List, Ain't Too Good, At the Bottom

*** for Souped-Up Ford, Bought and Sold, I Take What I Want, Lost at Sea, All Around Man, Cluney Blues, My Baby Sure

Dr. Feelgood "A Case Of The Shakes" 1980***

I have a few of these "Original Album Series" collections, usually featuring 5 CD's by the same artist in cardboard sleeve miniatures of the original LP cover. They're cheap and don't take a lot of shelf space, which makes up for the absence of booklets and the like. Since, unlike other box sets,  they contain entire albums in separate CD's, I'm reviewing each album apart. "A Case Of The Shakes" is the 5th and last Feelgood studio album with Gypie Mayo on guitar. Gypie had a difficult task ahead of him, replacing Wilko Johnson who had an impressive stage presence and an uncanny ability to play lead and rhythm guitar all at once. Mayo did well -actually the band had its biggest hit singles during his tenure- but there's no denying there was a law of diminishing returns at work here. "...Shakes" is considered by some (e.g. allmusic.com) to be a return to form but I'll beg to differ. I'm not partial to Nick Lowe's production in this one. Apparently he tried to capitalise on their acceptance among the punk/new wave crowd by cranking up the volume, shortening the songs and removing most solos.  It's true that some songs gain in punch but they sometimes sound hurried, and the band less invested in them. Just compare the low vocals and stiff playing in the, nevertheless catchy, "No Mo Do Yakamo" with the swinging live version on next year's "On The Job". Funky opener "Jumping From Love To Love" fares better, as do the fast punky numbers. These include "Going Some Place Else", "Best In The World", "Punch Drunk", and the rockabilly-ish "King For A Day" and "Who's Winning". All are co-written with Lowe or his guitarist Larry Wallis (former Pink Fairies/Motorhead) and signify a move away from the band's blues roots. It's telling that Brilleaux plays almost no harmonica in this album, with the exception of a great solo in "Punch Drunk". When they do touch on blues they provide two of the album's highlights: the relaxed ballad "Violent Love" and boogie rocker "Love Hound", both originally written by Otis Rush. The two band compositions closing the album are also very strong: "Drives Me Wild"is a garage rocker and "Case Of The Shakes" (at 2:52' the album's longest song) a Bo Didley-like stomp. In the end I enjoyed the album, there are some good tunes in it, but I found Lowe's production a bit too stiff (is it coincidence his company was Stiff Records?). This short and sharp approach may work well for punk bands with lots of energy but limited musical abilities, but The Feelgoods had it all, and they could use some more room to move.

**** for Jumping From Love To Love, Drives Me Wild, Violent Love

*** for Going Some Place Else, Best In The World, Punch Drunk, King For A Day, No Mo Do Yakamo, Love Hound, Who's Winning, A Case Of The Shakes

** for Coming To You